Ryan submitted a new blog post: Car Craft 'Grab Bag': Grilles! Continue reading the Original Blog Post
One of the problems, to me, is that with these examples you have to find a car or clip from a vehicle that is now describable and possible hard to come by. 54 Chevy grill, once a momma's car now a proper cruiser, Buick grills see before this one. And the list goes on. Tube grills? you can make them as least and sacrifice a stock grill. A friend of mine has a 57 Buick grill stashed for one of his 57 Chevys, that had a nice grill anyway. Think Pat Ganahal and the 57 he did years ago for Hot Rod. Fibergl*** and chrome wrap for a 'Repo' Desoto grill for your Merc?????
My first car was a '53 Ford Mainline with de-chromed hood and deck lid, '56 Olds tailights and my all time favorite grille, '54 DeSoto.
Seeing as how my first car was a 53 Chevy Bel Air hardtop that I nosed and decked and added extra teeth to the grille that front along with the 53 grille shell has always been one of my favorites along with a loaded 54 Chevy grille.
A "little" magazine from May 1955 - It would fit in the back pocket of your jeans - In the time before "custom" became "Kustom" - I stopped buying the little magazines about the time that points were awarded for kitchen cabinet drawer pulls in the front grill (and over-the-top application of angel hair).
This is a two page "Grab Bag" from a April 1954 Car Craft "Little Pages" Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
While 50's era grilles are becoming fewer with the p***age of time, it is good to remember that they were available on two doors, four doors, hardtops, convertibles, and station wagons as well. What is truly amazing is that with the annual model changes back then, a 1958 grille was only found on the 1958 cars and how many that you see at the major car shows.
I'd love to see a full pic of that '52. Does anyone have any information on that car? That's a unique twist to what I consider an ugly grille in stock form (and I own a 52).
Seems to me that car was a convertible. I can see the article in my mind....the guy was sitting in the driver's seat and someone was standing by him like they were hawking maps to Hollywood stars homes or something like that. I had the mag it was in back in the 80's. I'll see if I can find it and snap a pic of it.
It was a convert, I also have the magazine your talking about and the map thing I believe is correct..... I believe that the car was from Oregon and the owner took a road trip to Hollywood...apparently needing a map ...I know it originally sparked some interest with me, being a Oregon resident, because at the time I was doing some searching for info on a 50 Chevrolet Bel-Air ht that my dad had when he and my mother , before she was my mother, first met. I have always been curious if I was made in the back seat of the car....they have never told me ...just that I was a graduation present from my dad to my mom, I was born the nigjt my mother was supposed to graduate from high school. I have been building a 50 Bel-Air myself to be as close to my dads car as I can get, plan was to get it done while they are still around so they could go racing out on the old dike road like they did back in the day....my mom would get out and drop the air pressure in the back tires ,while my dad was taking off the caps on the lake pipes. Then my mom would flag the race. Car had a warmed over 235 6 with triple side draft carbs and the column shifter was flipped to the other side so that the 1-2 shift was straight down. Car got wrecked just a few months before I was born. Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
@rudestude, what's the story on the wreck? Racing or just an unfortunate event? It looks like it was a really nice car.
One night while returning home from work ,with my grandfather as a p***enger, the rear tire and wheel came off the car while he was in a corner on a hiway, he lost it and run it down a rock wall. The car sat at home, my grandparents home now my home, for a while . The engine was put in his 47 Chevy coupe , the hood my brother and I found in the brush years later and used it for a snow sled....the 3 remaining hub caps went to a neighbor, and he gave them to me almost 40 years later when I got my Bel-Air. The remaining hulk that was left was set on fire, to burn out the non metals, then taken to the s**** yard. The car could have been repaired , but back then couldn't afford to fix it ,so it got junked. A few years ago I was doing some excavating for a larger driveway and I kept digging up large pieces of lead...when I said something about it to my dad he returns with ...thats about where I set that Chevy on fire ....ya ....way to go dad. I wonder if he knew then that he was going to become a Firefighter. He retired as a Lieutenant Firefighter in 1992 after 30+ years of service....now ...he goes fishing. Sorry for the rambling. Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Here's my 51 Merc with a 1955 Desoto Grill photo shoot for Car Craft July 1957. There was also an article on grills in Car Craft January 1957 with my merc.
1958 Westside of Long Beach Hello, Ever since we read those early Car Craft/Rod &Custom/Hot Rod Magazines as little kids, we liked the look of customized cars. The local custom car group had one of the best looking 55 Ford F100 trucks that could be considered a custom car. It was a daily driver and could have been in magazines or the local car shows at the Long Beach Auditorium back then. Chopped top, full white tuck and roll upholstery, chrome accessories, Appletons and other stuff were the standard custom additions. So, on our plastic models, we always changed one grille for another. That became a problem because if my brother and I both wanted a certain grille, someone, usually me, got left out. So, I had to create a tube grille with wax rods for the real custom look. Jnaki When our teenage years rolled into the major scene, the Chevy sedans from 53 to 58 all got the custom stuff one thing at a time when the money was available. Some of it went into speed stuff and others got the interior white tuck and roll. The grille from the custom 53 Chevy was going to go on my Impala, but it would have both of our cars out of commission for a couple of weeks. Then the tubular grilles were coming on strong, so it was going to be a simple bolt on addition. But, money and time taken up by high school varsity sports, surfing, and cruising around played a more important part of our teenage lifestyle. So, the grille took a back seat. Actually, my friend with the 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop told me that the tube grille would make my Impala look funny. Teenage pressure worked…no tube grille Thanks, @themoose With a 1963 birthday windfall, I was able to get a great deal on 5 Buick Skylark Wire Wheels and money left over for a Henry’s Machine Works axle make over to fit the Buick bolt pattern.
The Jalopy Journal
